Docker Swarm is Docker’s native orchestration solution and provides basic orchestration capabilities. While it can handle simple deployments, Kubernetes offers more advanced features, scalability, and a larger ecosystem. If you have complex requirements or anticipate future scalability needs, Kubernetes is generally recommended over Docker Swarm. Docker is well-suited for local development, rapid prototyping, and simple single-host deployments. It provides an intuitive interface and streamlined containerization process. If you have a small-scale deployment with less complex requirements, Docker might be a suitable choice.

Whether you choose to go with Docker Swarm or Kubernetes, they will be two of the leading container platforms in 2022 and for many years to come. In 2021, there have been 7.3 million total Docker Hub accounts, up approximately 45% year-over-year. Developers are used to the Docker ecosystem and because it docker what is it is relatively simple to use it continues to grow in popularity beyond some other container platforms. Maintaining continuous deployment during a container lifecycle can be ensured by using the same container from development to production making sure there are no discrepancies or manual intervention.

What are the challenges of container orchestration?

Swarm mode is disabled by default and is something that needs to be setup and configured by a DevOps team. To scale containers, you need a container orchestration tool like Docker Swarm or Kubernetes. Both tools provide a framework for managing multiple containers, and each has its own strengths, weaknesses, and specific focus. Red Hat designed OpenShift as an enterprise-grade, open-source container orchestration platform. To meet that grade, OpenShift packs additional security, productivity, and hybrid cloud features.

Kubernetes, often referred to as K8s, is an open-source platform designed to automate deploying, scaling, and operating application containers. Google developed it and, in 2015, open-sourced it to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. This process is called containerization, and it entails combining applications and all their necessary dependencies into a standalone unit — the container.

Why use Docker with Kubernetes?

Kubernetes works on public, private, and hybrid clouds, as well as on-premises. Kubernetes’ features include automated rollouts and rollbacks, resource management, service discovery and load balancing, secret and configuration management, storage orchestration, and security. These capabilities make Kubernetes well-suited for managing complex, microservices-based architectures at scale. Modern software relies heavily on microservices, independently running components you can deploy easily and update rapidly.

Thus, you would need to create bearer tokens or another method of authentication manually, which is time-consuming and tedious. Docker Swarm is easier to start with than Kubernetes and is arguably the more appropriate platform if you know you are only going to have a small workload. The main disadvantages of Docker are high degree of complexity or inefficient storage options. Containers, unlike virtual machines, do not contain an operating system which means that they are capable of creating quickly and they are much quicker to start. For example, the PayScale average salary for Kubernetes skilled software developers is around $115k in the US. As a result, Kubernetes may not be a viable option for small or medium-sized businesses.

Which platform should you use?

Docker Compose is a tool for defining and running multi-container applications. These tools integrate tightly with code repositories (such as GitHub) and continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline tools (such as Jenkins). On its own, Docker is highly beneficial to modern application development. It solves the classic problem of “works on my machine” but then nowhere else. The container orchestration tool Docker Swarm is capable of handling a production container workload deployment of a few containers.

With Docker containers businesses can build, share and run applications with flexibility and security. The one saving grace when it comes to Kubernetes complexity is that you can take advantage of services inside Azure and other cloud environments to conduct the setup and configuration. Kubernetes is notoriously complex and this can lead to a difficult set-up and a tricky configuration process. For developers unfamiliar with infrastructure technologies, Kubernetes can be a steep learning curve. The multi-cloud capability of Kubernetes is one of the standout features of the platform and is part of the reason it has been so successful in recent years.

Cons of Docker

It should be noted that Docker Swarm, a container orchestration solution, is offered as part of the broader Docker platform. Swarm is comparable to Kubernetes, but is much more limited in its capabilities. It can be suitable for managing smaller or less complex containerized environments. Together, Docker and Kubernetes are the best way to build an adaptable and efficient software development environment.

Docker containers operate by packaging an application and its dependencies into a single container image. This image contains everything the application needs to run, including the code, runtime, libraries, and environment variables. By using Docker, developers can eliminate the common issue of inconsistencies and operational issues due to variations in operating systems and underlying infrastructure. Containers ensure that applications run exactly the same across all environments.

Kubernetes also has the ability to automatically balance the load across all the nodes in a cluster. This is done by using a built-in load balancer that automatically directs traffic to the appropriate Pods. Kubernetes and Docker do not provide comprehensive CI/CD tools out of the box. Yet Docker and K8s enable developers to automate their CI/CD pipelines, adding features such as load balancing and storage orchestration. You can also create new Docker apps using a library of templates with Docker Template, a CLI plugin that offers a top-level template command.

• It can be suitable for managing smaller or less complex containerized environments.
• Developers are used to the Docker ecosystem and because it is relatively simple to use it continues to grow in popularity beyond some other container platforms.
• Kubernetes containers are highly portable in a way that many other container orchestrators aren’t.
• Application teams and Kubernetes/Swarm platform operators alike depend on detailed monitoring data.
• The ability for Docker containers to run on multi-cloud platforms is incredibly useful and is ideal for businesses that work with a number of cloud solutions.

Docker is a popular containerization platform that enables developers to package applications and their dependencies into lightweight, portable containers. It provides a consistent runtime environment, ensuring that applications run seamlessly across different systems and environments. Docker simplifies the process of creating, distributing, and running containerized applications, making it a favorite choice for local development and single-host deployments. Kubernetes, often referred to as K8s, is an open-source container orchestration platform designed to automate the deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It focuses on managing clusters of containers, providing advanced features for workload distribution, scaling, and fault tolerance. Kubernetes abstracts away the underlying infrastructure, allowing developers to focus on application logic rather than the complexities of deployment and scaling.

To solve these problems and more, solutions to orchestrate containers emerged in the form of Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, Mesos, HashiCorp Nomad, and others. These allow organizations to manage a large volume of containers and users, balance loads efficiently, offer authentication and security, multi-platform deployment, and more. Kubernetes also provides a number of features for scaling, load balancing, and self-healing. For example, Kubernetes can automatically scale the number of replicas of a Pod based on the amount of traffic the application is receiving.